TWO DEFENDANTS IN VIRGINIA JIHAD CASE PLEAD GUILTY TO WEAPONS CHARGES, WILL COOPERATE WITH ONGOING INVESTIGATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General John Ashcroft, Assistant Attorney General
Christopher A. Wray of the Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty
of the Eastern District of Virginia announced today that two defendants have
pleaded guilty to weapons and explosives charges stemming from the
investigation into a militant jihadist network in Northern Virginia that
allegedly planned to train at terrorist camps abroad.

Randall Royer and Ibrahim Al-Hamdi entered their guilty pleas today before the
Honorable Leonie M. Brinkema at U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of
Virginia. Under the terms of their plea agreements, both Royer and Al-Hamdi
are required to cooperate fully with the government in the prosecution of
other individuals associated with the Virginia jihad network.

Royer, 30, pleaded guilty to a two-count criminal information, charging him
with using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of
violence, and with carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony.
Royer faces a total mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Al-Hamdi, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of an indictment charging possession
of a firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of
a criminal information charging carrying an explosive during the commission of
a felony. Al-Hamdi faces a total mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in
prison.

“Our success in the war on terrorism depends on our ability to gain the
cooperation of those who have information about the global terrorist network,”
said Attorney General John Ashcroft. “Today’s pleas accomplish that goal and
provide tough sentences for those who would join with and support our
terrorist enemies.”

“The defendants have now admitted their guilt to serious crimes in furtherance
of an international criminal conspiracy that carry a penalty of 20 and 15
years in prison,” stated U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty. “This is an important
step forward in our continuing efforts to protect America.”

In his plea agreement, Royer admitted to aiding and abetting co-defendant
Masoud Khan, Yong Ki Kwon, Muhammed Aatique, and Khwaja Mahmoud Hasan in
gaining entry to a terrorist terrorist training camp in Pakistan operated by
Lashkar-e-Taiba where they trained in the use of various weapons, including
semi-automatic pistols. Royer also admitted to helping co-defendant Ibrahim
Ahmed Al-Hamdi gain entry to the Lashkar-e-Taiba camp, where Al-Hamdi received
training in the use of a rocket-propelled grenade in furtherance of a
conspiracy to conduct military operations against India.

Royer acknowledged that he committed his efforts to help other jihadists gain
entry to the Lashkar-e-Taiba training camp following a meeting on Sept. 16,
2001, at which an unindicted conspirator said that the terrorist attacks on
Sept. 11, 2001, would be used as an excuse to trigger a global war against
Islam, and that the time had come for them to go abroad and, if possible, join
the mujahideen. Two other individuals attending that meeting, Yong Kwon and
Khwaja Hasan, who previously pled guilty, stated that a purpose in going to
the Lashkar-e-Taiba camp was to obtain military training for the purpose
engaging in jihad elsewhere, including Afghanistan.

Al-Hamdi pleaded guilty to Count 20 of the government’s superseding
indictment, charging him with possessing a firearm during and in relation to a
crime of violence, and to a one-count criminal information charging him with
carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony. In his plea
agreement, Al-Hamdi admitted to possessing a Saiga.308 caliber rifle with a
telescopic sight and various ammunition, including tracer rounds, for the
purpose of enhancing his ability to train for jihad in Chechnya, Kashmir, or
other places outside of the United States. Al-Hamdi also admitted to carrying
a rocket-propelled grenade in furtherance of a conspiracy to undertake a
military operation against India.

The pleas by Royer and Al-Hamdi follow guilty pleas in the case in August and
September 2003 by Donald Surratt, Muhammed Aatique, Yong Ki Kwon, and Khwaja
Mahmoud Hasan, who were members of the same jihad network in Northern
Virginia. Defendants Seifullah Chapman, Masoud Khan, Caliph Basha Ibn
Abdur-Raheem, and Hammad Abdur-Raheem are scheduled to go on trial on Feb. 2,
2004. Defendant Sabri Benkhala, another alleged member of the jihad network,
is scheduled to go on trial on March 2, 2004.

This case is being investigated by agents of the Washington Field Office of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Gordon
D. Kromberg and David H. Laufman, and Department of Justice Trial Attorney
John T. Gibbs are prosecuting the case for the United States.